Our data show that EMT leads to the repression of Irf6 – either during spontaneous EMT in Esc cells or EMT induced by the expression of Zeb1 and Snail. Irf6 ablation in parental cells protects them from T cell killing, while Irf6 restoration leads to greater T cell killing and immunotherapy responsiveness, effects that may be related to a tumor cell’s “TNF cytotoxicity threshold”31. This evidence concerns the gene ZEB1 and neoplasm.